Ten final, seven proposed Superfund sites announced

Apr 01, 2005

A battery recycling plant, a sheet-metal manufacturer, a zinc smelter and a gold mine are among 10 new sites just added to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. The U.S. EPA also proposed that an additional seven sites be added to the list. Contaminants found include cadmium, tetrachloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, mercury, dioxins, zinc, lead and arsenic, among others.

The just-added "final" sites bring the total to 1,245 on the NPL. Altogether, there are 1,309 final and proposed sites on the list. Sixty-four sites have been proposed and are awaiting final agency action: 58 in the general Superfund section and 6 in the federal facilities section.

Once a site is suggested for inclusion on the NPL, EPA conducts a preliminary assessment to distinguish, based on readily available information, between sites that pose little or no threat to human health and the environment and sites that may require further investigation. The assessment also identifies sites requiring possible emergency action.

When the preliminary assessment is complete, if further investigation is necessary, EPA conducts a site inspection to determine what hazardous substances are present, whether these substances are being released to the environment and if they have reached nearby targets.